I have an announcement to make

I WROTE A BOOK!

I've wanted to tell you guys that for the last five years. And WOW, it feels good to finally say it.

What's it about, you ask? Well, it's the story of James' birth and (alleged) miraculous healing through the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen. If you don't really know what I'm talking about let me bring you up to date:

My son James was born eight and a half years ago, a planned homebirth. Everything was beautiful and perfect until James was born lifeless. Not able to find a pulse, my midwife began CPR; Travis performed an emergency baptism; our friend called 911; and I sat in a state of shock, repeating "Fulton Sheen" in my head, unsure of how to pray for my son and therefore calling on my friend and James Fulton's patron to pray.

James was taken to the hospital and when the ED team stopped working on him to call time of death his heart started again - 148 beats / minute. He had been without a pulse for 61 minutes.

The doctors expected massive organ failure or, at best, for James to be very severely disabled. But we continued to pray, begging God for a miracle and asking Archbishop Sheen to pray for a miracle, too. And by the time he was one year old it was obvious that James would not only survive but that there would be no significant residual damage from that hour he was dead.

The Sheen Foundation and Diocese of Peoria held a tribunal to investigate our alleged miracle and it was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for Venerable Sheen's beatification.

This book tells that story.

Almost six years ago I signed a contract with Our Sunday Visitor to write this book. We did things privately, wanting to be respectful of the Church and Sheen's cause. And when the cause came to a pause we set the completed book aside. We waited and hoped and prayed. Over the years we discussed if now was the right time, but it never was.

Until right now.

I'm not sure what will happen next with the cause but in the end we decided that James' story is a powerful one and it brings glory to God. So I found my old manuscript, cleaned it up, brought it up to date, and resubmitted it to OSV. I just got it back from my editor, ready for my revisions.

The book will be released in late August or early September and will be available for pre-order at the end of the school year. Over the years many of you have reached out online or spoken with me after a talk and asked "When will you write a book?" I always wanted to say, "I HAVE!" and now I finally can.

I will keep you posted with the title, cover, and all the details. I have wanted to share this excitement with you because - and I mean this so very sincerely - so many of you are a part of this book. You prayed for James. You also asked God for a miracle. You sent our family meals, gift cards, prayers, and cash. You carried us when we could barely keep our heads above water. Travis and I have never forgotten that and we never will.

Thank you for your love and support over the years and right now. When Travis and I share James story we always want it to first and foremost bring glory and honor to God. We want it to also inspire people to befriend Fulton Sheen so that his holy witness will bring them closer to Christ. We want it to give people hope. We hope that this book does that for you.

+JMJ+

Our favorite books for liturgical living

One of the talks that I give is on liturgical living, and it's a favorite topic of mine to talk about. I think our Catholic faith is so beautiful and joyful and even, at times, quirky and I love sharing it with others through the seasons and everyday life.

When I present this particular talk I am sure to share lots of examples of ways our family celebrates throughout the liturgical year, along with examples of what our friends do. I also stress what a beautiful, easy tool liturgical living can be for parents and grandparents who are trying to evangelize and form their children, especially when it's done in a way that makes sense for each particular family's home culture, interests, strengths, and season of life. Finally, I make sure everyone knows that because this work of building up the Kingdom of God is vitally important satan will attack it, because he's a jerk like that, so be ready.

In my life books have been so helpful in sharing the faith with my kids and so when I gave this talk I brought some of my favorites to share with the audience. There was lots of note-taking and photo-snapping so people would remember the titles I had shared. But there were also so many books and DVDs I had to leave at home and I thought those should be shared, too, especially as my kids kept saying, "Oh I love this one! And this one! And this one!"

So below is a fairly extensive list of books and other resources we use throughout the year. The seasonal books are stored with their corresponding decorations and then placed in our family book basket for the duration of the season. Some books are read on a daily or weekly basis throughout the year. Some books stay on the bookshelf in our living room for easy access. We have a ton of other books, too, but I don't need to include How the Grinch Stole Christmas here.

I've divided the groups into books for kids, resources for parents / grandparents / teachers, Bibles, and DVDs. All the Amazon and Blessed Is She links are affiliate links, which means I receive a small payment at no cost to you when you purchase through my specific link. I have also built an Amazon page filled with these items so you can check them all out there, if you'd like.  You can find that here.

Take It to the Queen by Josephine Nobisso
The Weight of the Mass by Josephine Nobisso
Saint Clare of Assisi: Runaway Rich Girl by Kim Hee-Ju
Paddy and the Wolves by Steve Nagel
St. Nicholas - the Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Julie Stiegemeyer
Lady of Guadalupe by Tome dePaola
The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan and Judith Brown
On Easter Day in the Morning by Vickie Howie
My Happy Pumpkin by Crystal Bowman
A is for Altar B is for Bible by Judith Lang Main
An Alphabet of Catholic Saints by Brenda and George Nippert
Angel in the Waters by Regina Doman and Ben Hatke
My Superhero / Princess / Woodland Prayer Book  by Kendra Tierney
The Catholic Field Guide to the Liturgy by Michelle Chronister
The Story of St. John Paul II: The Boy Who Would Be Pope by Fabiola Garza
Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times by Meghan Bausch
The Chime Travelers by Lisa Hendey
I'm Bernadette by Emily Grace Ortega
A Little Book About Confession for Children by Kendra Tierney
I Walk with Jesus by Michelle Chronister
The Way of the Cross from Magnificat and Ignatius Press
Stations of the Cross box tutorial

The Little Oratory: A Beginners Guide to Praying in the Home by David Clayton and Leila Lawler
The Lazy Liturgical by Jenna Hines
The Catholic All Year Compendium by Kendra Tierney
Around the Year with the von Trapp Family by Maria von Trapp
Feast! by Haley and Daniel Stewart
Blessed Is She liturgical planner

Jesus Calling Bible Storybook by Sarah Young
The Action Bible by Doug Mauss and Sergio Cariello
Catechism of the Seven Sacraments - Building Blocks of Faith Series
Catholic Journaling Bible


Nicholas: the Boy Who Became Santa dvd
Veggie Tales St. Nicholas - a Story of Joyful Giving dvd
The Day the Sun Danced dvd
Bernadette - The Princess of Lourdes dvd
Juan Diego - Messenger of Guadalupe dvd
The Prince of Egypt dvd


Also, if you'd like to bring me to your parish or event to speak I would love to! You can check out my speaking page and shoot me an email!

The Last Bits of Summer

This will not be a sentimental post. 

The weeks before the kids go back to school are super stressful and overwhelming to me with the overload of errands, appointments, paperwork, and more. The house is constantly messy, the kids are bored of the slip n' slide, there's all kinds of fighting, and I am just so tired of feeding them. They want to go back to school and I want them to, too. How did people do it for thousands of years? How do homeschoolers do it? 

To me this is not the end of summer. Summer basically ended on August 6th. I will get out my Fall decorations on September 1st -ish and this time in between is a purgatory of stress and heat and exhaustion. (As an aside, some people think I'm a bit dramatic but I just don't see it.)

I made a playlist to get me through these next weeks. You can see how badly I want to get on with my life in that I titled it "September 2018." Some of the songs are pretty new to me and so I cannot vouch for all the lyrics and content, but if you want to discover some new songs right along with me click over and check it out. There's some safe ones, too, like Ben Rector and Mat Kearney. ;)

School starts with a half day on Thursday, so here's a look the last bits of summer, the things that happened at the end of July and the first week of August. That is, the things that I want to remember.

Jofis celebrated his 5th birthday. He wanted a train cake and party and since his favorite color is green I was able to make all his dreams come true super simply. A few of his classmates and cousins came over, everyone played outside, and we ate wacky cake and drank lemonade. He got a bug catcher and water balloons and his life was made. 

I celebrated my birthday, too. I turned thirty-seven and to celebrate I got coffee with friends, went shopping at Target with Travis, bought a new dress, asked people to donate to baby Olivia's GoFundMe, found a few new grey hairs, and overall had a good day. 

We also celebrated Harry Potter's birthday. The kids listened to several of the audio books this summer and L read the whole series for the first time. They have watched several of the movies, too, so it was a lot of fun to surprise them with a table filled with candles, pretzel rod wands, and this birthday cake. They snacked in the candlelight while watching the first movie before bed. And just so you know, there's a bit of a back story for this cake and you can hear about it if you watch the You're a Bad Mom video here.

In other news, we were given a Days of Creation paper chain (which you can see here) along with a beautiful, giant floor puzzle from WeeBelievers. Both are super sweet but we especially love the floor puzzle because we are just floor puzzle people, people! I mean, look at how happy Tee is with it! The illustrations are so sweet, you guys. I really love it. But the best part is that it's two sided so it's two, two, TWO puzzles in one!

In other news, I caught this super sweet picture of Travis and Tee sleeping one morning a few weeks ago. I mean, be still my heart. 

And now I'll tell you all a secret: this summer we attended 7am daily Mass Monday - Friday. The vast majority of the time the whole family went: Travis, me, and all seven kids. We missed a few days, and occasionally some of us had to stay home but usually we were all there.

Now this was even feasible because:
#1 - we did not have a newborn / someone recovering from major surgery (like last summer)
#2 - Travis is a teacher with summers off and this summer his handyman jobs were all local so he was almost always around to attend with us.

The reasons I wanted to do it are:
#1 - For years Travis and I were daily communicants and I was really missing that Gift.
#2 - I knew that if we attended 7am Mass all summer long our days would still end around 8pm which meant we could keep the same bedtime and evening routine. I knew I wanted to have time with Travis every night and I hoped that the return to the school would feel less like a crash and burn this way.
#3 - I'm hoping it will inspire my boys to love the priesthood and I pray that one of them has been given that vocation.

I don't know what will happen next summer but I know that being able to attend daily Mass this summer was such a gift to me. Even when my kids complained. Even when MJ would not be contained to the pew and had to wander. Even when we had to sit in the cry room because we were so late. It was such a gift.

 Speaking of Mass, this seems like a good time to show you the preview copy of Ginny Kochis's new Mass Journal for Kids. Ginny sent it to me and I promptly passed on to my 10 year old, L. It's really lovely, you guys, and if you're looking for something you can either gift to your own children, godchildren, students or use as a family to prepare for or review the Sunday Mass readings I really encourage you to try this.

L and I were both really taken by the layout and feel of the book. It's big; has room for doodles, journaling, and note taking; and includes all the readings + reflections, quotes from the saints, and more. I also like that it goes by seasons - this one covers the Autumn months - so it's not too bulky nor too big of a commitment. If you're looking for a nice Back to School gift this would be a great one, I think.


One last note: the winners for the Sheenazing Awards have finally been announced! You can head to the original post to see who earned the top three spots in each category! Thank you to everyone who voted - over 1,100! - and congratulations to the winners! I hope everyone had fun along the way!

Alright, time to get a move on. See you soon, you guys!

A Potluck Post

What a week this has been! It's crazy how some times it feels like life is going at full speed and we are hustling from one thing to the next only to run into a long, slow pause in the day where grogginess and boredom seep in. 

The slow pauses aren't all bad, though. They are were I have been finding time to read. My current book stack looks like this:

I've been enjoying A Wind in the Door which was given to me by a teacher friend who was purging her classroom bookshelves. 

I read an older edition of Queen Bees and Wannabes a couple years ago but decided to go ahead and get the newest edition for my own bookshelf. This is the book that inspired Tina Fey to write Mean Girls and I have found it very helpful already. 

I haven't started Loved as I Am but a friend dropped it off for me yesterday and I'm looking forward to jumping in since I love Sr. Miriam James' podcast. 

Finally, Living Your Strengths - The Catholic Edition has been an interesting read! The test says my top five are Belief, Connectedness, Developer, Activator, and Adaptability but I know the last one is dead wrong. I didn't understand some of the questions and so answered them... well not in the truest sense of what they were getting at. I think my #5 might actually be Includer but I haven't finished the book yet so maybe something else will ring more true. If you've read the book and taken the test tell me what your Top Five are. 

(PS - All of these books can be found at your local library or here.) 

Speaking of books...

We are still making our way through the Harry Potter books. Well, L could not wait for us to listen to them - she had to know! - and she finished the 7th book yesterday. Ben is actively listening to the audio books and is on the 5th one. Occassionally the other kids will listen with him, and I often try to when I can (causing me to fall far behind in podcast-listening), but mostly it's Ben. When he's done we will allow Ben and L to watch The Order of the Phoenix movie. JF, who has been having nightmares about "spooky castles," and the younger kids will not be allowed to watch until they are older and have read / listened to the books. I know there's a lot of people who don't like Harry Potter, and I totally understand and respect that stance, but I have loved those books and characters for so long and it's been such a joy to share them with my kids and to really talk about the themes, plots, humor, and such with them.

We've had really fun family movie nights with the first four movies. We even made "wands" as a snack. I dipped the pretzel rods in melted chocolate (Enjoy Life! brand chocolate chips + a bit of Earth Balance "butter" + some coconut milk) and then let the kids add whatever toppings they wanted. It was fun and all the kids enjoyed the added treat to the normal popcorn.


On the 4th of July we went to my in-laws home for their small town's celebration. It was so flippin' hot but we still went to the park and watched the parade. I came home with the two little ones but Travis and the five older kids stayed for fireworks, which were fabulous - or so the kids said.

Earlier this week L went back to the cardiologist to have a one-year follow up appointment. Her echo looked good, she looked good, everything looked good. Interesting fact: before her open heart surgery a year ago L was in the 65th percentile for height and the 35th percentile for weight. Now that her heart is not working triply hard she is in the 63rd percentile for height and weight. Isn't that amazing?!

Oh! One more thing before I forget - right now shipping is free for all the items in the Blessed Is She shop! This deal ends on Sunday and  if you haven't purchased a planner yet but were wanting to this is the best deal you're gonna get! My affiliate link is right here - thank you so much for using it!

So that's that - everything I wanted to get out of my head and down "on paper." I love these little potluck posts where there's a little of this and a little of that and mostly it's just the best parts of my life showing up. You know, like a potluck. 

Have a good weekend friends. xo

Seven Quick Takes: music + books + summer

I'm linking up with the wonderful Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum for one of my favorite old school blogging events: Seven Quick Takes Friday


 - ONE -

The first time I heard this song I thought it was Peter Gabriel. It's Francis and the Lights featuring Chance the Rapper, though if you listen you have to give it to me: it sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel, amiright?

 Man, do I love this one.


- TWO -

This summer I signed myself and the kids up for the Summer Reading Program at the local library. I count any time spent listening to the Harry Potter audio books, reading to my kids, and these babies here. Along with my Bible, these are the books I'm reading. 

Orthodoxy has been hard for me - it's so dense with it's page long paragraphs - but I'm sticking with it because those truth bombs he drops are so, so good. 

I've really enjoyed re-reading Sense and Sensibility for the first time in years. I often find myself laughing out loud and unable to explain why to my kids. Jane Austen would surely not approve  but I'm just not as clever. 

Who Does He Say You Are? is an incredible book and I'm so glad I picked it up. I highly recommend it to read by yourself or in a group. Super good. 

A Wrinkle in Time is one I read in middle school and re-reading it now I'm shocked that it was part of my 6th grade public school curriculum with all the talk about Jesus and quoting Scripture. I'm gonna guess that Oprah's version of the movie changes some of that. True?

- THREE - 

My friend Nell gifted us with the sweetest little dress for sweet little MJ. The material has a Secret Garden print on it and is soft and stretchy and just lovely. I wanted to share it with you because Nell's re-stocking her Etsy shop - Whole Parenting Goods - with all kinds of sweet dresses just like this. The shop re-opens at 10am CST on Monday with it's limited stock so be sure you check it out Monday morning for first dibs! You can get a preview on her Instagram account and if you sign up for her shop's newsletter you'll get a coupon code this weekend! Everything I've gotten from Nell's shop has been top quality and super adorable. I promise you'll love it!


- FOUR -
Tomorrow morning is the first meeting for the Blessed Is She summer study I'm holding with women from the area. I'm only cleaning my living room and bathroom. That's totally legit, right?

I baked these little rectangular gingerbread cookies so I could pipe sweet little pretty things on them to serve with the coffee. The rectangles look wompy and wiggly and who knows if I'll have time to pipe anything on them in the morning. I'll post it on Instagram if I do and then you can see how unimpressive they turn out to be. ha!

Update: here they are! Roses, Fiats, and Marian symbols. You can almost hear the trombones playing, can't you? Womp, womp, woooooommmp!

And as an aside, if you're looking for a good gingerbread cookie use these from Mary Haseltine. Such a great recipe. We use Crisco and egg replacer and they still are amazing!



- FIVE -

My new planner arrived and I started filling in important dates for August. First day of school, you guys! It's on the calendar! Also, see those pens lined up in a row? That's how I organize my life.
Black = whole family
Silver = Travis
Gold = Me
Purple = L
Orange = Ben
Blue = JF
Pink = Resa
Green = Jofis
Red = Tee
Periwinkle = MJ
So this way I only have to write the what, when, & where on the calendar and not the person because the color tells me the who. It's really nice.

And if you're still looking for a planner Tea with Tolkien did a very nice review of some really popular brands. She was fair and honest about all the pros and cons, and the Blessed Is She planners (regular and mini) are included.


- SIX -
I know I just talked about the beginning of the new school year when summer isn't even half way done yet. We've had a good run so far and I thought I'd share some highlight pictures:

Trying to win a free vacation from a local radio station. We're shameless. 

Sprinkler parks: fun and free. The heat index was over 100 this day so I put on my suit, too. 

Our very dear neighbor volunteers at a local museum and we were so happy to get a special tour from him. 

Corpus Christi procession - Ben was asked to help carry the canopy and he was so honored. Nervous, excited, and so honored. 

The fair came to town and we made the kids clean the whole house and then we took them. 

- SEVEN -

Just a reminder about the Kickstarter campaign for Catholic musician Matt Faley's next album. Go, back it, and then make sure you let me know so I can enter you to win some of the suh-weet prizes that are special just for my blog readers. You won't be sorry you did!



And a great big THANK YOU to Kelly for hosting!

A Song for Everything: A Little Home-School Pre-School for Resa

This year while my oldest three kids attend brick-and-mortar schools I will be doing a little homeschoolin to get Resa Rie ready for next year, when she will attend Kindergarten.

Now, most real homeschoolers I know don't do preschool, successfully covering pre-k curriculum in the first weeks of Kindergarten or just introducing their children to the concepts through life. When my oldest, L, was 4 we opted to homeschool her, too, but I was pregnant and naps quickly became more important. However, being a girl, the oldest, and the only grandchild meant that she still learned her letters, numbers, the days of the week, and a few other things - and that was mostly from books and conversations, not PBS Kids! When she went straight to Kindergarten she was fine. We knew that Ben would benefit from attending Pre-K4 and we were right - it was a good investment and really helped him do well in Kindergarten. JF, of course has been in preschool for three years, as that was how he received speech therapy.

Resa, though, is in a different place than her siblings before her and so we will do actual homeschool with her. But when I say that please know it will be super casual and laid back. 

She already can identify all the shapes, colors, numbers 1-10, and about 1/4 of the alphabet. She also sorta knows how to write her name and how to say most of her prayers. We'll need to solidify the Hail Mary, Our Father, and Glory Be, though.

My other goals - which we have a whole entire year to accomplish - are to teach Resa:

- the days of the week (we got a song for that)

- the months of the year (we got a song for that one, too)

- how to identify the letters of the alphabet

- how to write the letters of the alphabet

- how to write numbers 1-10

- how to count to 20 on her own, 100 with me

- her address (another song)

- my phone number (yet another song)

- how to writer her first and at least sorta write her last name

Days of the week song: the days of the week sung to O My Darlin'. It works in Spanish, too.

Months of the year song: Singing the months through to the tune of Ten Little Indians with "these are the months of the year. Good job!" at the end. 

The address song is our address to the tune of Ten Little Indians (the second half). So, for example and not my real address:
Two-Fifteen Oak Tree Avenue / Chicago Illinois!

My phone number is sung to Knick-Knack Paddy Whack. Is that what the song even called? Anyways, again not my real phone number:
123-456-7891 with a knick-knack paddy whack give my mom a call / her name is Bonnie.
It works. My older kids don't want to sing it to people but they have used it to remember my number so grown ups can call me. #winning

Other resources - books I'll be using:
Catholic Icing's Preschool Curriculum

Various Usborne Wipe Clean books

This summer we had a pretty good run for going to the library and reading books. I'm hoping to continue that with Resa and spend some time reading classics with her. I think I'll make a list of A-Z books (like A for Alexander and the Horrible...Day - sorta like what Haley did here) and loosely try to follow that through the weeks. We'll see. I call myself a fake homeschooler (unlike the "real" homeschoolers I referenced) because my standards are loose and low and none of it quite feels legit, yaknowwhatI'msayin?

And I have changed up my shelves a bit to make things a bit more schoolish. We'll see how long this lasts but yay for mason jars, toys my kids were given, and Target dollar bins!

I figure two days a week for 30 minutes will be great. We'll probably start after Labor Day - once the big kids have settled in school and our home is off to its new rhythm. Honestly, I am really glad for this time with Resa. She is so peaceful and sweet, the middle child with no health issues or anything else to call attention to her, and so it's easy to let her be. It'll be good to intentionally sit down with her and work with her. One more year for her to be with me and be my little baby girl.

That got sappy so we'll wrap this up. If you have a favorite book for my list or another resource you'd love to tell me about please share!

Instagrammers you should follow, In This House of Brede, and a few other bits and bobs

1 - I heard this song on Lark Rise to Candleford, hunted it down, and taught it to my kids. It's a fun song to sing, though my husband thinks I'm nuts and typing it all out makes me feel really lame.


2 - Two years ago this August I ran a series called Instagrammers You Should Follow and highlighted the IG account of Anna Hatke. If you didn't begin following her then you really should now. Each summer she and her girls return to the storybook Italian village where her family's roots are. Sometimes her husband, author and illustrator Ben Hatke, comes too but this year it's just the ladies. And the pictures are gorgeous and magical. Follow her.


3 - And while you're over in Instagram land, I am also going to recommend you follow my friend Shana. She's just a mom and a wife and a woman who loves Jesus. She also happens to have a great sense of humor.

The funny thing is I never knew Shana before but I knew OF Shana. She was like a legend, a demi goddess. In high school one of my best friends was LB. Her older sister's best friend was Sarah. Sarah mentored LB and me a bit through a Christian youth program and we both thought Sarah was so cool. Shana is Sarah's older sister and everyone thought Shana was outrageous and amazing and the. coolest. person. ever. Ever.

So enough about 16 year old Bonnie and 21(?) year old Shana. She's pregnant and funny and lovely and real now. You can follow her here.


4 - A few months ago a friend mentioned a brush to me and encouraged me to buy one off Amazon. "It's great for detangling wet hair," she said, and I will admit I did not believe her. I think she sensed that so she bought one for me and she was 100% correct. The (affiliate link) Wet Brush is fabulous. It's not as great on dry hair, or at least not on my dry hair, but on wet hair it is better than the combs or picks I had been using. I love it for me and my girls.

 5 - Last night I stayed up until midnight so I could finish the book In This House of Brede. I enjoyed reading the novel tremendously and I sorta saw the end coming but when it got there I was... disappointed. Now let me do my best River Song impression:

Spoilers. ;)

I'm assuming that if you're still reading this take you have already read the book and so I won't be ruining the ending for anyone. So here goes: They get on a plane?! That's how it ends?! With them getting on a plane?! No. (head shake) No. (head shake)  No. (head shake)

I think I wanted to see them there, in Japan. I wanted it to end with Phillipa looking out into the Japanese gardens or something. Maybe that would be tidy, but it felt tidy having Penny and Donald there watching them board. And I don't really understand why McTurk went with them. hmmm... If you've read it what do you think?

PS - I did love Cecily and how she made her choice and how her prayer was answered. That was wonderful.

6 - One week from today I'll be leading a Blessed Is She workshop on Building Intentional Community. I'll be sharing what I've learned from leading, founding, attending, and belonging to various groups, ministries, and gatherings over the years. Personally, I found it to be difficult to find where I fit in as an adult and while I definitely haven't figured it all out I have gotten some things right while learning from few mistakes I've made along the way.

I think this workshop will be really useful if you are looking to join or form a ministry / book club / mom group / young adult group OR if you are already actively involved in one. If you signed up for the BIS Membership you will already have access to the workshop but if you aren't a member you can still watch. To sign up for the Membership click here or to pay the $15 and sign up for the workshop click here.

7 - Finally, I wish I could hug the world. The refugees, the LBGT community, the black community, police officers, and now the people of Nice, France. How can such a beautiful world have so much pain and ugliness? I don't have any answers but I promise that I am trying to become a better person and I'm trying to raise my children to be good people - the kind who fight for justice, who stand up and speak up, who are merciful and loving. And in the meanwhile I am praying with my very heavy heart.
Jesus, I trust in You. Come, Lord Jesus.+

Easter Baskets, Books, & a Thank You

Picture by Annie Spratt

It's that time of year when I have to figure out what I want to give my kids for Easter. The gifts need to
a) not drive me crazy
b) not be a bunch of candy
c) be practical
d) not break my heart if they don't last forever
e) last longer than the Octave of Easter
and
f) be something they'll be excited about.

This year I'm doing the whole umbrellas turned upside down for the basket thing, which you probably saw on Facebook and Pinterest. Totally cute, right? They originated on Primal Dish, and I just love the idea.

The kids will each get their own, in their own color* filled with their own special color cup** and swim goggles. Starbursts and sidewalk chalk will round things out and all the items meet all my criteria.

And in case you're wondering what to get for your friends and family I wanted to share some ideas. Some of these are Amazon links and if you make a purchase after following my link I will get a small referral fee at no cost to you, but I'm not being compensated for any of the other items.

Also, as a way help and show my appreciation to you, I've reached out to the many of the artists and creators I'm featuring and have gotten special coupon codes for you to use. Many of these items would make special gifts for First Holy Communions and Baptisms, too!

So here's the things we're doing this year and items we've done in the past and some other stuff I simply love and wanted to share:


This year's (affiliate links following:) umbrellas, sidewalk chalk, and goggles mentioned above are obviously good choices. ;)


Prints by Jude Landry, Brick House in the City, and Hatch Prints - these hang in my kitchen and brighten my life.

Use the coupon code HEISRISEN for 20% off from now until Easter at Brick House in the City.

Use the coupon code AKNOTTEDLIFE15 for 15% off from now through May 15th at Hatch Prints.

Use the coupon code FRIENDOFBONNIE for 15% off from Jude Landry.

Saintly Silver dolls - Tee just received Fulton Sheen and Fr. Kapaun for his baptism and I can attest to the high quality and adorableness of these suckers.

Honey Child Forrest has so many whimsical crafts and cute things - I swoon all the time.

Use the coupon code BONNIE16 now through Monday for free shipping from Honey Child Forrest.

For the bearded men in your life: Catholic Beard Balm


For family game night fun: Spot It and Go Fish, Old Maid, and Crazy 8s card games


For kiddos with special events coming up: Timree Box

Use the coupon code aknottedlife to get 10% off any religious dish from Timree

And books!
An Alphabet of Catholic Saints (sweet for littles)
The Weight of the Mass (If you don't own this already buy this book; it's perfect for littles and kids prepping for First Communion)
Chime Travelers (easy but good chapter books)
Angel in the Waters (lovely - especially for families expecting a new baby)


Plus, I want to tell you about a couple of new-ish books by Michelle from My Domestic Monastery: Mary Holds My Hand and I Walk With Jesus.

 Mary Holds My Hand is a child's rosary book. There are great reflections and prayers to help the children through the decades. I've passed this book on to my daughter to help her learn to love the rosary better and so far it's been a good fit.

It's also beautifully illustrated by Heather Sleighton of Audrey Eclectic Folk Art. (Which, by the way her Madonna in Blooms would make a great Easter basket gift for an older child, your mom, or yourself. Use the coupon code knottedlife to get 15% off through April 15th.)

I Walk with Jesus is an incredibly kid-friendly Station of the Cross book. We have several books for Stations and I like them all, and each is good for a different age. This one is perfect for my littlest kids. I wish each page had the Station's proper title and the prayer, "We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You..." because I get lost in remembering those things while trying to help my kids pray, but the pictures and the words are so perfect for the target audience that it's a small complaint. If you're looking for a good book to help with Holy Week and to grow this devotion in your domestic church I definitely suggest this one.

Okay, I know I should do some great wrap-up but baby Tee is crying and I need to go! Let us pray for each other!

PS - If you're joining or coming into full communion with or returning to the Church this Easter please let me know!!!

PPS - *I learned that assigning each kid a color trick from Kathryn.

**That cup one, too.

Thrilling things you'll want to know, aka Seven Quick Takes

1 - It's been a long time since I've started one of these Seven Quick Takes with a song so I thought I'd come back with a sugary pop bang:

Judge away but I love this song and can't stop listening to it. You can feel bad for my husband, it's okay.


2 - I finally got my hands on a copy of As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. It was a delightful book - especially if you know and love The Princess Bride. As soon as I was done I picked up the novel The Princess Bride, which I've read before but it's a treat to re-read.


3 - I've been working on show notes for The Visitation Project. There's some new episodes up, the one on Forgiveness has my stubbornness on full display.

4 - I'm part of a wonderful group of friends at our parish. These are couples who are funny, kind, and love their faith.  Twice a month the men get together and do boy, I mean manly things. (Last month they made a Bat signal... like Batman.... while drinking beer and also talking about NFP.) The women get together once a month for a bit of wine, a bit of conversation, and a bit of faith formation. Last month was awesome  with Kathryn Whitaker Skyping in and to share tips for running your home with less stress - so good!- and this month our associate pastor, a priest from Uganda who is here getting his doctorate in education, spoke about the strengths and weaknesses of the Catholic Church in America - also so good! What awesome things do you have going on at your parish?

5 - I began watching Once Upon a Time on Netflix. I had seen some of the episodes before; I think I watched the whole first season or two on tv but then things got a little rocky for me and I bowed out. I started watching again after so many people recommended it to me while I was on bed rest, and I'm liking it. Especially now that we're out of Neverland.

6 - I also started physical therapy. I've never done PT before and I must say that so far I love it. I have horrible pain in my lower back and hips - something I've had with most of my pregnancies and something that just keeps getting worse. My midwife recommended me to a local PT place that specializes in women's care and I really like the woman working with me. My problem: poor posture and lots and lots and lots of tense muscles. I got a 30 minute massage today and it was called therapy and it was amazing.


7 - And now a big THANK YOU to Kelly for hosting every week. Make sure you head on over to This Ain't the Lyceum because she's got a wonderful give-away running right now. Good luck to you on winning it!

A little catch up 7QT

Linking up with Kelly because she's the best.


1 - This song is on repeat at my house. Travis is not amused, but also can relate. Except I always went to Perkins with my friends - no Waffle House in Central Illinois.


2 - Thank you to everyone who came by last week and joined the link-up. It was so great having you here! I'm way behind on visiting all the blogs who linked up, but I will visit! Promise.

And thank you, too, for all the congratulations on the new baby. We really appreciate your prayers and your joy in our growing family.


3 - The good news is that my morning sickness has really backed off a bunch. I still have some crazy food aversions that suddenly jump start morning sickness-like feelings but that just makes me think I'm having a girl.

(I'm really hoping for a girl. I have a girl name all picked out. I can use those super cute, adorable clothes one more time. Travis hopes we have another girl and that she becomes a nun so he doesn't have three weddings to pay for.)


4 - I'm trying to do small things for low cost to keep me from feeling bad about the fact that I haven't been able to tackle as many things on my Summer To Do list as I had wanted. So I:

Took Teresa's dresser, moved her clothes to a cubby system that fits perfectly in her closet, and placed it under the mirror in the living room. It's supposed to have an entryway feel, which sorta works.

The top drawer currently holds swimming suits, towels, sunblock, goggles, beach towels, and swim diapers. In the winter these contents will be switched with the contents of the bottom drawer: gloves, hats, mittens, scarves, and the like.

The middle draw is where the diapers and wet wipes are kept because I no longer use a changing table - just the floor. The kids tend to wear the same pajamas and clothes until they're too dirty to be worn again. During the night the clothes are stored with the diapers, during the day the pj's are here. The living room is so much tidier because of this system!

The end table had been under the mirror, holding the book basket, but it was moved to the other end of the sofa:

From this angel it looks really full.... because it is really full. I promise things are shoved up against each other, and probably if I moved that rocking horse out it would be better, but the kids like to sit on it while they watch tv so it will stay. I do like having the end table - super handy.

The bookshelf was given a little sprucing up, and some more breathing room. I like it better this way - with empty space.

Many of the children's books that were in the living room were moved to the family room. My mom gifted me this oak bookcase, which I love and is really handsome. So far so good!

5 - I've been loving reading all the Edel posts and hearing from my friends how the conference went last weekend. When I attended Edel in Austin last summer it was such an amazing experience for me

Finding God in Shrimp and Grits
What a Great Party Can Teach You about Women in the Church
Edel is Like Fairy Dust and Other Revelations
The Edel Gathering Part I and Part II
Edel Gathering Recap
#edel15: My Family Survived on Frozen Pizza While I Ate Grits

That last link is to Kelly's blog This Ain't the Lyceum and it also includes a link-up for all the other posts. I wish everyone who wanted could have been there (I wish I could have been there!) but for various reasons it just wasn't meant to be, but I'm so happy for the women who were able to get away - who were able to dance and pray and chat and laugh and eat food they didn't prepare or have to clean up. I know Edel fills a need and I'm so grateful to God that Jen and Hallie are willing to put in all the hard work to make it happen.


6 - I picked up In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden and though I'm only 30 pages in I am really enjoying it. My friend Nancy gave me a copy, so shout out to Nancy for being so wonderful and generous!

7 - For those of us who need simpler, less expensive events, much closer to home I am so happy that Jenna, the founder and Fiat-ess of Blessed Is She has started organizing BIS Brunches. Hopefully you're already reading and finding encouragement in the daily devotionals, but did you know there are also regional Facebook groups? In them we chat, share prayer requests, discuss the devotions, and have started planning the brunches.

Right now there are brunches planned in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana but more are in the works. A Blessed Is She Brunch is such a great way to form community with our fellow Catholic women, and to do it in a way that is centered on Christ.